“He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.”
A godly love is first a gracious love. Kindness is shown to all regardless of who they are or what they do. In this passage God demonstrates what some theologians call a common grace. It is a grace given to all people. All people experience the benefits of sun and rain. We experience air to breathe and food to eat. We see God’s thumb print on our lives. People who have rejected God or are His enemies experience His kindness anyway in the things we, as believers enjoy in this world.
A gracious love is given, not because it is deserved, but because of the quality of love by the Giver. We begin to treat others the way God treats the evil and the unrighteous.
Is our enemy a non-Christian? That person stands under the condemnation of God and needs to be pitied. It is horrible for them not to know God. If we are the ones who have sinned and caused harm to another, then we need to pray that God would change our hearts and ask that we might be the instruments of His peace and love. Christ's love is given even it isn't deserved. That is what Jesus did, "While we were yet sinners Christ died for us”. He was the just for the unjust, the godly for the ungodly.
Why should we give gracious love? Because that type of love is also a godly love. The previous verse reads, "that you may be sons of your Father in heaven.”
You are not converted by showing love to enemies. You are saved by God showing His love to you. You came to realize your sin and short comings; confessed them to God and by faith trusted Jesus to save you.
To be identified as children of the Father or as His sons, we seek to demonstrate the same kind of love He has; being children of peace or sons of peace (meaning peaceful people). In this sense, we can say being sons of God means being godly people. We who have God as our Heavenly Father should be identified as godly, as having the similar kind of love.
Just as all people benefit by His gracious love, we might argue that the fall also affects all people, Christians and non Christians alike, that would include Hindus, Buddhists, atheists, and Satanists. We live in a fallen world, lost without Jesus.
In our case, everyone regardless of color or creed can get too much rain at one time. When a tornado hits, storms and chaos in weather, it hits everyone in the town and doesn't skip over the Christians’ homes. The sun shines on the thorn, on the rose, it shines on the pig and the glamorous movie model. It shines on the beggar and the rich man.
Just like we all are affected by the general grace of God, so are we all affected by the fall of man. Therefore, there is a sacrificial love needed to change our hearts forever.
Prayer: Gracious Lord, Oh how You love us. I need Your Holy Spirit to teach me to love with a Gracious Love.
